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Manipur Violence: Amit Shah ‘personally monitoring’ the issue; holds meetings with Biren Singh & CMs of neighbouring states

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New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday held two meetings over video-conferencing and spoke with the chief ministers of Manipur and its neighbouring states, over the disruption law and order in the Northeast state after tribal groups took out rallies in several districts there, sources said.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka and officials concerned in the state as well as in the Centre took part in the two video conferences.

Amit Shah asks Manipur and its neighbours to be cautious

The Home Minister also spoke with the chief ministers of neighbouring states, asking them to be more cautious until the situation in Manipur is controlled properly.

The Home minister also assured all possible help to maintain peace in Manipur and deploy more central security forces in the state to enforce order.

Home Minister reportedly is personally monitoring the situation

According to sources, the Home Minister has been personally monitoring the situation in Manipur.

Earlier in the day, the Home minister spoke to Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh. In the telephonic conversation with the CM, the Home minister was apprised of the present situation and the steps being taken by the state government to control it, said sources Sources also pointed out that major deployment of security forces is being done in Manipur.

Forces deployed

“Several companies of BSF, CRPF and Assam Rifles along with the Army were deployed in the state yesterday and today. Further deployment of security forces will be done tomorrow as well. Maximum deployment of CRPF is being done in the hill state,” a source said.

According to sources, five companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) were dispatched to Manipur earlier on Thursday. However, an adequate number of Army, Assam Rifles and other Central Armed Police Forces are already deployed at the violence-torn areas to control the situation. The RRAF is a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to deal with riot and crowd control situations.

Internet suspended

To tackle the worsening law and order situation after tribal groups took out rallies in several districts of Manipur, the state government suspended mobile internet for five days. Along with a ban on large gatherings, a night curfew, too, has been imposed in several districts of the state.

In view of the situation, a curfew has been imposed in non-tribal-dominated Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Jiribam, and Bishnupur districts, and tribal-dominated Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, and Tengnoupal districts.

The Manipur government, in a statement, said, “Internet services suspended in Manipur for five days amid incidents of fighting among youths, and volunteers of different communities as a rally was organised by All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) Manipur in protest against the demand for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST category.”

It is believed that two issues in the state are believed to have led to the prevailing situation.

First, CM Biren Singh’s move to protect the forest faces resistance from illegal immigrants and drug cartels, and the second is linked to the Manipur High Court’s recent direction to the state government to consider the inclusion of Meitei in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs), which led to an outburst from the tribal communities which are already on the scheduled list.

Violence broke out during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district to protest the demand of non-tribal Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal Valley, for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Thousands of tribals, who make up about 40 per cent of the state’s population, joined the processions, waved placards and raised slogans opposing ST status for the Meitei community.

National News

‘Waqf Amendment Bill Was Presented To Finish The Board,’ Says AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi

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'Waqf Amendment Bill Was Presented To Finish The Board,' Says AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi

Mumbai: Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at the BJP over the proposed Wadf Board (Amendment) Act bill, which aims to bring transparency in Waqf administration and property, saying that the bill was presented to finish the Waqf board.

“The Narendra Modi government is not bringing this bill to protect, develop or bring efficiency to the Waqf properties. This bill was presented to finish the Waqf board…”AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said in a press conference in Mumbai.

‘BJP & RSS Are Spreading False Propaganda,’ Says AIMIM Chief

He further claimed that the BJP and RSS are spreading ‘false propaganda’ against Waqf Board.

“False propaganda is being spread by BJP-RSS that Waqf is a government property instead of private property. The other false propaganda is being spread that the Waqf board has 9,40,000 acre of land. Just like in the Hindu religion, properties are donated, similarly in the Muslim religion, these are donated properties. Why is the government interfering? This is violation of article 26,” Owaisi said.

Further highlighting a clause in the bill, he said, “It is written in it that a practicing Muslim from last 5 years can perform Waqf. What is the meaning of practicing Muslim?- will he be someone who reads Namaz 5 times a day, will have a beard or a skullcap… cap…will his wife be Muslim or non-muslim? Who are they to decide? No such law is there in the Hindu religion…Any Waqf property that is with the government its decision will be made by the Collector, how can collector who is a executive be a judge here?”

Notably, the Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 will conduct informal discussions in five states with various stakeholders from September 26 to October 1.

These consultations aim to refine the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, which governs the management of over 600,000 registered Waqf properties across the country.

About The Waqf Act Of 1995

The Waqf Act of 1995, was created to regulate waqf properties, but it has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.

These consultations will play a vital role in ensuring that the amendments to the Waqf Act are practical, effective, and aligned with the needs of the community. The committee has to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the next parliament session.

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National News

Delhi: Minors Kill 16-Year-Old Friend For Denying ‘Samosa’ Party On Buying New Phone In Shakarpur; Arrested

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Delhi: In a shocking incident a youth was brutally murdered by his friends for denying to give a party on purchasing a new mobile phone in Delhi’s Shakarpur area. The 16-year-old youth was stabbed to death by his friends after an argument erupted between him and his friends who were demanding samosa party from the victim for buying a new mobile phone. The police have registered a case and arrested the accused. They have also recovered the knife used in the murder of the youth.

The incident occurred on Monday (September 23) in Shakarpur area of East Delhi when the sixteen-year-old youth identified as Sachin bought a new mobile phone. While he was returning home after purchasing the phone along with one of his friends, he met few other acquaintances on a samosa shop. They saw his new mobile phone and started demanding a party from the victim. Sachin refused to give them a party, after which an argument erupted between them.

The argument escalated which turned into a fight and one of the boys took out a knife and stabbed Sachin from behind. He stabbed Sachin twice from behind, after which Sachin suffered serious injuries and fell unconscious on the spot. All the three accused fled the spot after attacking Sachin. The people present at the spot called the police and reported the incident.

The police arrived on the spot on receiving information about the incident. They took the dead body of the victim into their custody and initiated an inquiry into the matter. The police registered an FIR and after the investigation of the CCTV camera installed in the area, the police identified the accused and initiated a search operation to nab the accused.

The police arrested all the three accused in connection with the matter and all the three accused are said to be minors. The police have initiated the proceeding under the Juvenile Justice Act.

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National News

Woman Devotee Discovers Tobacco Inside Tirupati Laddu; TTD Refutes Allegation

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Woman Devotee Discovers Tobacco Inside Tirupati Laddu; TTD Refutes Allegation

Amid ongoing controversy over Tirupati prasad, a woman devotee has made a shocking claim that when she broke the laddu given to her as prasadam at the famed Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, she found tobacco wrapped in paper inside. However, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) refuted the allegations and asked her to store the laddu for investigation.

Tirupati prasadam has been in the news since last week after Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, citing a Gujarat lab report, claimed that the sought-after offerings distributed during the previous government’s tenure contained animal fat. CM Chandrababu Naidu’s allegation has sparked a political storm in the state.

Khammam district resident Donthu Padmavati claimed that she visited the Tirupati temple on September 19 and brought back the prasadam to distribute among family and neighbors.

Padmavati said she was heartbroken after finding pieces of tobacco wrapped in a small paper inside the laddu as she was about to distribute the sacred offering.

Padmavati’s claim came as a major shock to Tirupati devotees, who were already reeling from the news that the ghee used for the laddu was contaminated with animal fat.

These incidents have raised serious doubts among devotees about the hygiene and overall purity of the prasad distributed at famous religious places.

In response, the TTD refuted the claim that Tirupati laddu contains tobacco packets, stating that the viral content has caused unnecessary controversy. The laddus, made with great devotion by Sri Vaishnava Brahmins at the Laddu Potu in Tirumala, adhere to strict protocols and are prepared under constant CCTV monitoring, the TTD explained.

“It is misleading and unacceptable to imply the presence of tobacco in such a carefully regulated process,” the TTD stated.

Nonetheless, TTD contacted the devotee and requested them to preserve the laddu for investigation.

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